


Pearl's by Moonlight

by RivetBucktail (orphan_account)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Self, Carnival Games, Dual persona, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Fun Date, Funfair date, K-Y Jelly, Looney Tunes References, Magic, beach date, butthole translocation, space jam - Freeform, tender love and care, warner brothers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/RivetBucktail
Summary: “Wow, Pearl,” Bolt said again in amazement, “What’s it like living in such a wonderful town?”“I’ve lived here for over 100 years,” Pearl replied somberly, “so the novelty of town and that of the life I live here have long faded away. Sometimes life here can be hectic, though oftentimes it’s peaceful. But I do like it. It really is wonderful, I suppose,” she said. “It’s my home, and as I’ve told you before, I live to protect this place, my home.”Bolt2Strike, the “Pearl Shrine-Wall Anon” of 4chan’s /Steven Universe General/ threads, meets Pearl of Beach City and has the time of his life with her.
Relationships: Pearl (Steven Universe)/a fan of Steven Universe





	Pearl's by Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Gift fanfiction to Bolt2Strike. Written by Rivet Bucktail.

_“Wow, Pearl,” Bolt said again in amazement, “What’s it like living in such a wonderful town?”_

_“I’ve lived here for over 100 years,” Pearl replied somberly, “so the novelty of town and that of the life I live here have long faded away. Sometimes life here can be hectic, though oftentimes it’s peaceful. But I do like it. It really is wonderful, I suppose,” she said. “It’s my home, and as I’ve told you before, I live to protect this place, my home.”_

Bolt2Strike, the “Pearl Shrine-Wall Anon” of 4chan’s /Steven Universe General/ threads, meets Pearl of Beach City and has the time of his life with her. 

****** 

_On the night of his 22_ _nd_ _birthday, Bolt decided to act upon the burning malice he held against Rebecca Sugar, buried deep within his heart. This smoldering wick lit well before the present moment, Bolt had harbored a deep grudge against Rebecca. After all, the woman had kept him from his beloved for several years, through sheer exertion of will: She had created a character that had become beloved by Bolt, but had not provided a way for the pair of them to be together._

****** 

Rebecca was alone in her Los Angeles apartment that evening. 

Nightfall came long ago, and with rest and bed a duly concern, she was going to bed dressed in her evening nightclothes. Rebecca donned a t-shirt and cotton pajama pants, and firmly gripped the covers of her bedsheets, thinking fondly of her work as an animator. _I wonder what story I’ll write tomorrow_ , Rebecca mused inwardly, smiling and laughing to herself atitter in the peaceful dark of her bedchambers at the thought of creating a new adventure for on which Steven Universe, her creation, to embark. 

Suddenly, with a loud noise the door to her room burst open. 

“Who’s there!?” cried Rebecca, startled. 

Standing in the corridor beyond the bedroom door with his eyes glimm'ring wildly in the dim of the outer hallway was Bolt. Bolt2Strike of Ontario, Canada. With scornful malice painted on his scowling face, he shakily gripped in one hand a bent, rusty crowbar, and clasped a heavy, wooden baseball bat in the other. 

“BECKY!” he screamed. 

Rebecca pulled the covers up to her mouth in terror. She was paralyzed by fright, and feared for her safety. 

Would he attack her? 

But Bolt began to cry. He dropped both the crowbar and the bat, and fell to his knees on the hardwood floor. He crawled toward Rebecca on his knees, with tears streaming down his bespectacled cheeks. 

“Why, Becky!?” he wept. “Why would you do this to me? Why would you flaunt her, all her beauty, her grace; her immaculate serenity, and yet... I can't be with her! WHY, Becky!?” 

...What? 

“‘Her’?” Rebecca began cautiously. “…Who is ‘her’?” 

“PEARL!!” Bolt exclaimed. “You created Pearl and put her on TV where I could _see_ her… But I can’t touch her!! Or feel her!! _Or BE with her_ !! _Why_ , Becky, _why_!?!” 

Rebecca gazed at him with a solemn look. 

“I need her!! I _need_ my Pearl!!” Bolt cried, in hysterics. “I need her like I need _food to eat_ !! Like the _water I drink_ !! Like the _air_ !! _I_ !! _BREATHE_!!!” 

Bolt wept and wept; he soon calmed a bit and rubbed his tearful eyes with his arm. “Today’s my 22nd birthday. I came here all the way from Ontario, Canada… I used my savings to by a plane ticket to L.A.—I used the crowbar to pry your apartment door open, and I brought the baseball bat just in case Garnet was here to defend you like a magic genie bodyguard…” 

Bolt lowered his head, let out a choking sob, and lifted his eyes again. “All to be with her! …Make her _real_ , Becky! Make her REAL!!” Bolt yelled. He was an absolute wreck, and looked a disheveled mess in the midnight moonlight. 

Rebecca sighed. 

“…I don't quite understand everything regarding the turmoil you're going through right now, but I do know how to help you,” she said. The woman was ever-compassionate towards her stories' fans. 

“…You’ll help me?” asked Bolt. 

“Yes,” she said simply, and pointed to something nearby. “Pick up that bottle over there.” 

Bolt turned his head and saw on Rebecca's nightstand a bottle labeled “K-Y Jelly”. It was K-Y brand personal lubricant. “FAMILY SIZE”. 

“This?” he asked. “The lube?” 

Rebecca nodded in the dim light the moon cast aglow upon her pale visage. “Pour it over your body,” she instructed. “Slather it all over and make sure to get yourself thoroughly moist with it.” 

“Wha—but I don't...I don't understand,” Bolt stammered. 

“Do it. Please trust me,” Rebecca spoke. “And please take off what you’re wearing,” she continued, “I'll need for you to get thoroughly moist with it all over your body.” 

Bolt was embarrassed, but he complied; taking a deep breath, he removed his shirt, pants, and socks. He stood naked within Rebecca's gaze then; Bolt grimaced in embarrassment. 

Rebecca glanced down at his crotch. “Cool,” she said. 

“Wha—what?” asked Bolt. 

“Nothing,” Rebecca replied. “Just please make sure to cover yourself with the K-Y lubricant here.” 

Complying once again, he turned the lid of the tub of the K-Y brand lubricant and held the whole tub over his head. He let the lube splash onto his hair, and he slathered and slathered it all over his scalp, face and upper body. 

“Oh, no, that won’t do at all,” Rebecca chided. “You still haven’t lubed up your abdomen, lower body and legs.” 

“Um…” 

“Check the drawer for more lube,” Rebecca said, pointing to the nightstand drawer. Bolt opened the drawer and found another tub of K-Y brand lubricant inside. 

“Why is there so much of this stuff here…?” he asked. 

“I’m a very dirty girl,” said Rebecca. 

Bolt said nothing and slathered more lube onto his body—he covered his tummy and his crotch and balls and junk and his legs and butt with it. When he was done, his body glistened in the dim light the moon cast aglow upon his pale visage. 

“Good,” Rebecca said, humming in satisfaction. She was lying on her back and propping herself up on the bed with her elbows. 

Rebecca pulled the cord of the nearby bedside lamp to her left, lighting the room with the lamp’s luminescence. Then she ripped off her pajama pants and discarded them by tossing them into the corner, revealing a dense forest of pubic hair and her chubby thighs. 

“WHAT!?” Bolt cried, covering his eyes. He was quite the gentleman. 

“Well, I mean, _you_ were naked,” said Rebecca. “But really, this is the next part. I need you to come closer.” 

She patted the spot on the bed between her legs. It looked really awkward. 

Bolt walked over and sat there. 

“No, I meant I wanted you to just put your _head_ there,” said Rebecca. “I need you to press your head up against my anus.” 

“ _WHAT_ !?” Bolt cried again. “ _WHY_ would I do that!?” 

“Well, I mean, you did just break into my house in the middle of the night,” Rebecca said, “Armed and dangerous, even. I could just call the police.” 

“N-no-no, don’t do that,” Bolt stammered. 

“Anyway, besides, you’ve taken off all your clothes for a woman you don’t even know personally and covered your whole body in K-Y sex-hole lube,” Rebecca continued. “What could you possibly do at this point that would make this situation any weirder?” 

“Oh, I uh…” Bolt muttered, “I guess it really couldn’t get any weirder at this point.” 

“Okay, good,” said Rebecca, “Now press your scalp up against my anus. And lie straight with your feet over the edge of the bed. It’ll make this easier and less spine-snapping for you.” 

Bolt looked around the room. “This whole room looks like the room of a male high school student living in the suburbs of Kyoto,” he said. 

“I’m a very weeaboo girl,” said Rebecca. 

“Oh.” Bolt looked up again. “…What did you mean by ‘spine-snapping’?” he asked. 

“Ah,” began Rebecca. “You’ll want to have your spine completely straight for this,” she said. “Trust me.” 

Bolt sighed and Rebecca spread her legs with her legs and her buttcheeks with her hands. She was still sitting on her bottom. 

Resolutely, Bolt stuffed his head between Rebecca’s butt and the sheets below her, having to take off his glasses first to do so. He was trying to get his head up in there, but their awkward positions made it very difficult. 

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you were on your stomach instead?” Bolt asked as he buried his head between Becky’s butt and the sheets. His voice was muffled by the covers; he was on his face. “Then I could just bury my head between your cheeks and just—“ 

“It’s more comfortable for me this way,” Rebecca stated plainly. “Don’t forget to straighten your back and legs.” 

Bolt did as he was told. And Rebecca smiled warmly. 

Finally and after much wiggling and shimmying, Bolt’s scalp pressed up against Rebecca’s anus. Rebecca shuddered as Bolt’s short, brown hair scratched her butthole like the bristles of a hairbrush. 

“Are you ready?” she asked. 

“Ready for wha—” Bolt began, but… 

“LET US BEGIN,” Rebecca called out loudly. There was a flash and a bang and then loud roaring from within her anal cavity. 

Rebecca’s butthole opened wide and began to pull Bolt into itself. Bolt screamed and Rebecca groaned and growled and _roared_ , and Rebecca’s anus gaped wider than her hips and pulled Bolt into it like a pneumatic tube, swallowing him whole. 

Bolt screamed and screamed louder as he rocketed through Rebecca’s rectum and sped through her sigmoid colon. Inside, Becky’s ass was a huge cavern, though Bolt couldn’t fathom how or why. 

He rounded Rebecca’s splenic flexure and traveled through her transverse colon at an obscenely high speed. This was all really dirty, but at least it didn’t smell that bad. 

Bolt dropped down Rebecca’s ascending colon and soon flew into her cecum. Right as he flew toward Rebecca’s ileum, he saw her ileal papilla. It had the Warner Brothers insignia on it. 

“Wha…?” Bolt began to ask, but his entire body smacked into the big ol’ WB. 

****** 

High in the skies above Beach City, in the World of Steven Universe, Bolt stretched through the fabric of reality. 

He tore through it, and found himself falling towards the Big Donut. 

Bolt screamed and his voice echoed across the hills of Beach City. Falling from thirty stories high is very scary, you know. 

He landed among the trash cans before the parking lot behind the Big Donut. The cans were jostled by the impact of Bolt’s fall; that fall should have killed him, but he was within the world of an American cartoon now. Seldom do animated series follow the laws and conventions of real life. 

“So that’s how it is, huh.” Bolt uttered, picking himself up. He was unhurt. Bolt looked and he found himself dressed, and his glasses even back on his face. 

He stood to his feet and dusted himself down. “So that’s how it is,” he said. “This whole world existed within the confines of Rebecca Sugar’s ass the entire time.” 

_Go to her_ , Rebecca's voice rang out within Bolt's mind. 

“ _Who_ —what?” 

_This is my apology_ , Rebecca's voice sounded. _Please completely accept it._

Bolt shook his head in incredulous, bitter disbelief. “This is insane…in the worst of ways,” he muttered. 

He walked around the outside of the donut shop. Bolt soon came to the glass door at its front—He peered through it, looking hard through the window at who was on the other side. As it were, three figures were inside. 

“We're almost set on snacks for the road. We just need some beverages.” 

It was Steven. And next to he and Amethyst was her. 

Pearl, in all of her pale glory. 

“PEARL!!” Bolt cried. “It’s really _her_!!” He spasmed and fangasmed and fell to the ground in a dirty, crumpled head. He soon rose to his feet again. 

“Whoa, this must be the night when Pearl hit on the girl they never named!” Bolt said. Thinking on it, he suddenly felt abysmally, crushingly dejected. “There’s no way she’ll want to even talk to me if she thinks she could be with a woman that looks like Rose Quartz,” he muttered. 

Bolt’s shoulders slumped. “She even gets her number later tonight,” he said. 

_Don’t give up hope just yet_ , Rebecca’s voice spoke again. _Try and see_. 

So Bolt took a deep breath and sucked in his gut and let it back out again. He had come this far already. Or this deep, rather, into Rebecca Sugar’s bowels. That was real dirty. 

Bolt opened the door of the Big Donut and entered the shop. 

“Strawberry Sugar Shock Shutdown, or good old-fashioned apple juice?” Steven asked, holding a can of beverage in each hand. Pearl was leaning her back against one of the donut shop’s refrigerators. Arms crossed and one foot up, even. She was easily the coolest girl Bolt had ever seen. 

“Definitely Sugar Shock Shutdown,” Amethyst said, and Steven handed her the can in his left hand. “It turns everything re—” Amethyst had only cracked the can open, when suddenly she and Steven stopped moving. They stood still-frame, as if they were a paused image in the reel of a motion picture’s film tape. 

“Why did they just—” Bolt began, but suddenly Pearl turned and saw him. Their eyes met and Bolt tensed up and grimaced. Chills ran down his spine. 

“Oh. Hi there,” Pearl said simply. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you maybe new to Beach City?” 

“I, um…” Bolt began. He didn’t know what to say. After all this time, he had met her. Pearl, his beloved. And he was even now speaking with her. 

Mystery Girl walked into the Big Donut. Pearl saw her, but did not so much as glance in her direction after she was out of Pearl’s field of vision. Bolt, on the other hand, turned to look at Mystery Girl, but she froze up and stopped moving, too. 

“ _Suddenly, everyone stopped moving completely. Time stood still for all. All except for Pearl and Bolt_ ,” Rebecca’s voice spoke, as if narrating. 

“What…what just happened?” Bolt asked aloud. 

Even more so did the flow of time still over a second time just then, and the world became as a monochrome photo; black-and-white. 

_You ask the word “what” a_ lot, Rebecca’s voice rang out. 

_Time has stopped for the residents of Beach City, and for everyone who lives in this world_ , her voice continued solemnly in Bolt’s mind. _Everyone but you and Pearl will be stuck in the moment…quite literally._

_Pearl will not question it, nor will she even wonder why time has ceased to move. She will only be focused on one thing and that one thing only—you._

_I’ve frozen the passage of the hours a second time to explain this to you. When I release you again, only you and Pearl will be able to move freely._

_Pearl was on her way to a rock concert with Steven and Amethyst, but for now she’ll be occupied with something…much more meaningful. She has a duty much more important to attend to now—the rock concert can wait._

A moment passed, and there was bright flash of light, as if lightning had struck. Then color gradually returned to the world, the bleak black-and-white being overtaken by tawny hues-fading-in. 

Before too long everything was its proper color. Steven, Amethyst, and the mystery girl stood still as before, but Pearl moved and she spoke. 

“Tell me, what’s your name?” Pearl asked. 

“B-Bolt,” Bolt stammered. “I’m Bolt.” 

He had started to sweat a bit. 

This wasn’t going quite as he had planned for it to. A million times he had played over in his head how his meeting Pearl would go. He’d been charming, dashing, and debonair in his fantasies; each time he’d gone up to Pearl and swept her off her dainty feet; each time Pearl had giggled and professed her love for him in sincerity. Each time the two had kissed deeply, and passionately, and then Pearl even offered to— 

Pearl giggled. “Nice to meet you, Bolt. I’m Pearl,” she said. “Welcome to Beach City!” 

Bolt smiled. “Thanks, Pearl,” he spoke and said quite firmly, “I’m happy to be here.” He was surprised at his own composure. Meeting Pearl should have reduced him to a dithering, babbling wreck, but he got all of that out all outside the door, it seemed. 

Pearl hummed quietly in response. “I’ll have you know I’m one of Beach City’s oldest residents!” 

“O-oh.” 

“There’s a lot to see here. A lot to do, too,” Pearl continued. 

“Y-yeah.” 

Pearl smiled warmly at Bolt and looked him dead in the eye. 

“Would you like to see the beach?” she asked. 

“Hm!?” 

“I said, ‘would you like to see the beach?’” Pearl asked again. “I can take you there! The scenic, Beach City shoreline is one of this town's greatest draws! Would you like to go to the beach together?” 

“Ah!” Bolt said, perking up suddenly. This was what he’d wanted for a long time now. “…Sure! I-I’d love to, actually!” he replied. 

“Teehee!” Pearl chirped. 

Pearl took off the leather jacket she was wearing and put it on Steven. She took off her “bad-girl” jeans too, and draped those over Amethyst’s face. Steven and Amethyst were still frozen in time. 

Underneath the “rebel” clothes, Pearl wore her usual tunic and leggings, a look Bolt had come to know and love by his infatuation for her. Pearl giggled and took Bolt’s hand. 

“I, erm, um…” Bolt stammered, he himself frozen suddenly with glee. 

“Let’s go! I’ll take you there,” Pearl said. 

****** 

Pearl took Bolt down Thayer Street, the road that led to the northern beach of the city from where they were. They walked together as the Beach City evening breeze rolled past. The stars twinkled in the expanse of the dark, night sky above; and Pearl’s arm was looped around Bolt's shoulder, as if the two had been going steady for years. 

“So, tell me a little bit about yourself, Bolt,” Pearl spoke. “Where are you from?” 

“Um…I’m from Ontario…” Bolt replied. He was nervous, and afraid he would somehow mess things up by mistake. 

“In Canada?” Pearl asked. “The country with the green leaf on its flag?” 

“Actually, the leaf is red, but—” Bolt stopped speaking. He and Pearl had arrived at the beach much sooner than he thought they would. At that moment, they stood on the road overlooking the sand and seashore. 

Pearl led Bolt down the sea wall in the pale moonlight, out onto the shore of the sandy, Delmarvian coastal beach. 

“Come on, Bolt!” Pearl called happily as she broke into a brisk sprint, running gleefully out toward the surf. The ocean waves crashed along the dim, night seashore, and in the moment the salty sea air tickled Bolt’s nose below the frame of his glasses. 

Pearl turned around and faced nervous Bolt, and she smiled brightly at him. Her gleeful grin was infectious, and Bolt found himself smiling too. 

“Watch this!” Pearl said. She closed her eyes and her tunic and leggings lit up and began to glow. In an instant, they were replaced by the glowing form of a teal sundress that splayed downward as it manifested from within Pearl's ivory heart. It cloaked her body, and the photoluminous sundress settled and became corporeal, covering Pearl’s shape. 

The hem of the dress flapped in the gentle, nocturnal sea breeze, and Bolt gulped, seeing it. He was overtaken by Pearl’s serene beauty in that moment; the dress looked so wonderfully nice on her… 

Bolt’s glasses fogged up a bit from the sight of Pearl-as-she-was, and he became stiff, and tense again. 

Pearl giggled. She motioned for Bolt to come closer to her—he did and stood at her left. 

Pearl sat on the grainy, beach sand as the evening, sea breeze rolled by again. She looked up at Bolt and this time patted the vacant spot next to her. 

Bolt looked at _Pearl_ fearfully. _Is this…is this a date?_ , he thought? 

If it were, he never wanted this tender moment now to end. 

Anxiously, he sat beside her with caution. 

“It sure is nice here this evening,” Pearl spoke, “isn’t it, Bolt?” 

“…Um, y-yeah,” Bolt whispered softly. 

“I want you to feel welcome in our town,” she continued. “It’s not easy being new in an unfamiliar place…” 

“I’m happy to be in your care,” Bolt answered. 

“Not a problem,” Pearl replied. 

It was silent then as the waves lapped against the shore. Pearl said nothing for a moment. 

“…I asked you, but…I never did tell you where _I’m_ from,” she suddenly spoke, somberly. “I’m actually an extraterrestrial life form…an alien from a distant planet in another galaxy.” Pearl said this looking straight ahead, solemnly at the receding surf. 

“I, um…” Bolt began. 

_You can be honest and open with her if you like, Bolt_ , Rebecca said. 

“I…kinda guessed that. S-since you don’t exactly look human,” he finished. 

_Honesty is the best policy, though, you know?_ Rebecca spoke again. _But I won’t speak for you. This world is your oyster…and that is your Pearl_. 

“… _My Pearl_ … _?_ ” Bolt whispered. 

“Yes?” Pearl turned her head to Bolt. “Did you say something?” 

“Ah, nothing, no!” Bolt blurted out, waving his hands back and forth defensively. 

“Oh…” Pearl turned her head and again gazed at the waves as they crashed against the shoreline. 

Bolt glanced below at the sand beneath him. _If she is_ my _Pearl…will she love me? Will she accept me, and choose me as hers?_

“…When I first came here, to this blue planet, thousands of years ago,” Pearl began, and Bolt turned to give her his attention undivided. “…It was a little strange, being on another world. It is every time you first set foot on another planet. Sometimes you feel…a bit out of place, to say the least.” 

“I see,” Bolt replied. 

“That’s why I wanted to make sure you felt welcomed to our home, here.” 

“Thank you…” 

Silence again. 

“…This place, this planet here…it’s not truly ‘ _home_ ’ for you, is it?” Bolt asked. 

“No,” Pearl replied, and a bit sadly. “But it’s now become home for me,” she spoke, “and I live to protect it; this place, my home.” 

“I…see.” 

A moment’s breadth quietly passed once more, and suddenly Pearl spoke. 

“Do you want to get closer to the water?” she asked. 

“…S-sure,” Bolt stammered. Despite his own anxiety, being here with Pearl, _his_ Pearl…it truly was just… 

Pearl stood to her feet and held out her hand to help Bolt up. Bolt smiled and took it, and she lifted him to his feet quite easily. 

_…So wonderful_. 

Pearl did not let go of Bolt’s hand. “Come on,” she chirped, and led Bolt into the surf at the shore. 

Bolt slipped off his shoes as they went, with Pearl slowing her pace to allow him to kick them quickly off. Pearl’s own shoes vanished in a bright flash of sparkling, teal light. 

They walked and then waded through the surf, with Pearl pulling Bolt, resolutely leading him by the hand. Bolt’s heart skipped beats aflutter; and Pearl looked back at him as they ran, grinning toothily, her eyes shut for joy. 

Soon, though, enraptured Bolt’s hand slipped free and he slowed his pace and stopped; crouching slightly, panting to catch his winded breath. Pearl turned to him and waited for Bolt footfalls from where he stood in the sea. 

“This is fun being together with you, Bolt!” Pearl cried. 

Bolt stiffly straightened up, slowly. He smiled at her. 

“You know, it’s been a while since I came out to the beach for relaxation and recreation,” she continued. “Once when I did, I was dressed in an outfit that isn’t too different from this one.” 

She pressed her palm to her chin, tilting her head in fond reminisce. “We played volleyball that time with one of the local families, I and the other alien girls who live with me. We all had a really good time.” Pearl was remembering a time not very long ago, when she and the other Crystal Gems had played what soon became a dynamic game of volleyball (and a lesson on the importance of teamwork and trust for one's companions) with Kofi Pizza and his mother and twin daughters, right outside Pearl’s abode, the Crystal Temple. 

“Pearl, you’re really something els—” Bolt began, but stopped suddenly. He had noticed something—a platform standing on wooden supports a ways up ahead. 

“Where is that?” he asked, pointing. 

“Oh, that?” Pearl replied kindly. “That’s Beach City Funland. It’s the local amusement park.” 

“Oh…!” 

“…Hey,” Pearl said, speaking up, “do you want to go there?” 

“Me and you? …Go to Funland?” 

“Why not?” she asked giggling, “It’d be…fun!” 

“S-sure, then,” Bolt stammered. He took a step forward, but then glanced at the sand below where he stood and realized he wasn’t wearing any shoes. His socks were missing too, still within his sneakers far behind. 

“Oh, I left my shoes behind…” Bolt sighed, remembering that he had swiftly kicked them off to go running in the surf with Pearl. 

“Ah, don’t worry,” Pearl chirped. “I’ll go get them!” 

She turned and stepped away toward where Bolt’s shoes had been discarded. Bolt himself stepped out of the ocean and back onto the dry, beach sand. 

He sighed again, though this time fondly—Bolt was reflecting on his time in this world, and on the time he was spending with his beloved, Pearl. He stared up at the stars in the sky of the world within Rebecca, shimmering and twinkling brightly. 

_How do you like the date so far?_ , called Rebecca’s voice. _It looks to me as if you’re quite enjoying yourself._

“Rebecca, I…” Bolt began, but Pearl had promptly returned with his socks and shoes. 

“Here you are, Bolt,” she said. “They were way back _there_ , but now they’re here!” 

Bolt chuckled and thanked Pearl. _Everything happens so much faster with_ Gemstone Folk, he thought. It had taken them five minutes of running and wading through the surf to trek to the sand just before Funland from their spot on the beach-a-ways-behind. Pearl had gone to where they were at first and come back in less than thirty seconds. Even walking to get to the beach in the first place had happened much faster than it should have. _Did she run?_ Bolt ruminated, _Or did she use magic to make the journey less distant?_

Bolt received his shoes from Pearl, and sat down to put them back on. 

“Oh,” he sighed again, noticing something. “I’ve got sand all over my feet.” 

“Let me help you,” Pearl said quickly. She hurriedly knelt down beside him, and with the silken hem of her teal sundress, she carefully dried Bolt’s damp feet and brushed the gritty sand off of them as best as she could. 

“Pearl, you don’t have to—“ 

“Don’t worry about it at all,” Pearl told him. “I’m glad to make sure everything is prim, proper and in order for you.” 

“You’re so kind…” Bolt murmured. “T-thanks.” 

Pearl smiled at him fondly. 

“ _You’re very welcome, Bolt._ ” 

****** 

With Bolt’s feet shod, Bolt and Pearl went to Beach City Funland together, Pearl’s arm once again looped around his. 

At the gate of the park, they were greeted by a tall, bald man with a darker complexion and a mustache that framed his very large and bright smile. It was Mr. Smiley, Funland’s most busy employee. 

He stood grinning at the entrance to Funland, chipper as ever. He was beaming. There was a wide, bright smile on his face. And he seemed pretty happy too. 

Bolt opened his mouth to speak, but Rebecca’s voice rang out again. 

_He’ll be your guide at this place_ , said Rebecca solemnly, _operating the rides and attractions of the park for you and Pearl during your time here._

Like everyone else apart from Bolt and Pearl, Mr. Smiley was frozen in the stilled passage of time. So he simply stood there in place with his arms toward the pair, silently “welcoming” them to the city amusement park. 

Bolt wasn’t sure what to say. 

“Uhm… hi, we’d like to—” he began. 

“We’ll be visiting the amusement park for a while,” Pearl told Mr. Smiley. “This is Funland! We’re looking forward to having lots of fun here.” 

Mr. Smiley stood petrified, silently. His expression and pose did not change. 

“Thank you!” Pearl said. “It’s very kind of you to greet us so politely.” 

Bolt was confused. 

Anyway, Pearl strode ahead, past Mr. Smiley and through the gate of the park. She called behind her as she broke off into a brisk sprint, excited to see the amusements within. 

“Come on, Bolt!” 

Confused, Bolt cast a worried glance back at Mr. Smiley one last time as he passed, and turned to quickly hurry after Pearl. 

*** 

He found her at the midway, in front of the well-known, classic, funfair midway's water-gun game. There were eight seats and eight water guns there for eight persons to play simultaneously. 

“Look at this here, Bolt,” Pearl said, and Bolt turned to look at her attentively. “It’s a game where you shoot water at the little target at the wall here, in front of the gun, and you win a prize if you’re the first one to fill the tank that rests _above_ the wall. It looks like fun! Why don’t you give it a try?” 

When Bolt looked back at the water gun game booth, Mr. Smiley was suddenly standing there silently and grinning wide, behind the little target’s wall which was short. Bolt jumped back in surprise; he hadn’t expected Mr. Smiley to suddenly appear out of thin air without drawing the slightest bit of attention to himself. Shouldn't he have appeared in a dense puff of smoke, or in a flash of light? 

“How did you get here!?” Bolt cried, startled. 

_He’s your guide, Bolt_ , said Rebecca. _He’d have to move around the park to assist you, so of course he’s here._

“Uhm…” 

Pearl didn’t seem to notice Bolt’s stunned outburst. “D’you want to try the game?” she asked curiously. 

Bolt stopped to mull it over for a moment, inwardly, and he realized this was his chance to impress Pearl, even if only slightly. He’d win her a wonderful prize and kindly give it to her as a heartfelt gift! 

“Sure, I’ll play it,” he said. “Will you start up the game, please?” Bolt asked, turning back to Mr. Smiley. Mr. Smiley’s hand was already on the button that stated the machine, when Bolt looked back to him, and he seemed to lean onto it all on his own accord. Strange that he did, though petrified. But regardless, the game started and Bolt took his seat at one of the guns. 

He aimed the gun at the little target on the wall in front of him and sprayed its water with gusto, trying to get as much of it on the small target as possible. 

…Bolt was the only one there, so naturally he was the first (and only one) to fill the target’s tank and win the game. And when he did fill the tank, he turned again and saw Mr. Smiley standing nearby with a small stuffed panda bear—Bolt’s prize for “winning” the game. 

He gently took the small bear from Mr. Smiley’s stilled, outstretched arm. 

“For you,” Bolt said turning to Pearl, presenting her with the toy bear. Pearl clasped her hands together in delight, and received the gift from him with both hands. She lovingly hugged it to herself, happily and giggling. 

*** 

Afterwards, Pearl and Bolt moved on ahead to another fun, funfair game—skeeball at the Funland Arcade. 

Bolt strut over to the skeeball alley, emboldened, and chose the machine that stood out to him the most—the one in the middle. 

“Let me win you another prize,” Bolt said softly. Pearl smiled in excitement in reply. 

Right then, though, Bolt realized he didn’t have any tokens for the skeeball machine. His smiling countenance fell, but Rebecca’s voice suddenly spoke up. 

_Don’t worry about tokens or coins for the machine. I’ll start the game for you_ , she said. 

And so the skeeball game started, apparently all on its own. Pearl questioned it not at all. 

Bolt smiled wide at it and thanked Rebecca silently. He was happy that he would be able to make _Pearl_ happy with another magnificent present given to her as a tender gift. 

The machine yielded nine skeeballs, round and chilly to touch, and Bolt grabbed the first one that rolled out of the game’s dispenser and into the balls’ metal tray. 

Resolutely, he rolled each ball down the lane, one skeeball at a time. And when Bolt had rolled the last and final ball, the game ended. 

He found that he had come 170 points short of the high score. But still, the machine dispensed no small amount of tickets; Bolt took them all that emerged from the skeeball machine's ticket dispenser. 

He grimaced a bit at so-closely missing beating the best player’s score and winning the biggest prize available on display. But when he glanced back to Pearl, he saw she was grinning wide and beaming ear to ear. “Good job, Bolt!” she said. “You did so well at the game! You even got three balls in the smallest hole way up top!” 

“Oh, heh-heh…thanks,” Bolt replied. 

_Either way, I'm really glad that she’s happy_ , he thought. 

They went to the prize counter together. Suddenly Mr. Smiley, still smiling, was standing there, though he hadn’t been there a moment prior. He was holding two new stuffed bears in one hand, and with his other arm outstretched as if asking for something. 

“Oh, um, I…” Bolt began... 

“I think he wants you to give him the tickets you’ve won,” Pearl whispered. “Those bears must be your prize, since this is the prize exchange counter.” 

“Oh!” 

So Bolt placed his bundle of tickets in Mr. Smiley’s outstretched palm and he gently received the two new stuffed bears from Mr. Smiley’s other hand—one, a polar bear, and the other a grizzly. 

“Here,” Bolt said kindly, handing the two new stuffed bears to Pearl with finesse as he had before. 

“Thank you so much, _Bolt_ ,” Pearl said, sincerely. She took the two new bears from him, embracing them gleefully just the same as the first toy bear prize. 

Pearl and Bolt left Mr. Smiley and the Funland Arcade behind and strolled back onto the Funland pier. As they went side-by-side, they passed another game that caught Bolt’s attention. 

It was a high striker. 12 feet tall. 

Somehow, Mr. Smiley was standing right next to the high striker at a booth. Of course he was still beaming ear-to-ear—in fact, his expression hadn’t changed the entire night. (How could it?) 

There was a rack nearby with an assortment of wacky, superb prizes hung upon. Among them was a large green stuffed Martian that Bolt recognized. Peridot had skilfully won a doll like the one there-and-in-Bolt's-gaze, some time ago through shrewd use of an ability she found she had possessed unbeknownst. 

“Pearl,” Bolt began, and Pearl quickly turned around. “I want to win you that big alien right here.” 

“Oh!” she replied, glancing up at the top of the high striker. “…Do you think that you can ring that bell…way up _there_?” 

“I’ll certainly try my best!” Bolt said. 

There was a rubber mallet nearby, and Bolt grasped it, tightly and with resolve using both of his hands. It wasn’t very heavy, though it did have a bit of weight to it. 

Bolt stepped back and shifted _his_ own weight, readying a swing. Bolt stepped forward and struck the lever then with as much blunt force as he could muster. 

The high striker’s puck ascended about halfway up the high striker, but it failed to reach the top. It slinked back down to its resting place at the striker’s tower’s base. 

“Oh,” Bolt said, dejected. 

“That’s okay, Bolt,” Pearl said, encouraging him, “Trying hitting it again!” 

Bolt nodded, determined, and took several steps back to ready his journey. With a running start, he charged the lever once more and bashed it hard with the mallet again. All of his strength went into hitting the lever a second time, and this time with a little extra _oomph_. 

The puck rose just above the halfway point this time, but it still slinked back to its place at the tower’s base. Bolt’s lips drooped, sinking, and he frowned. He really wanted to win the game for Pearl, but it was giving him the hardest time. _Was it rigged?_

“Don’t give up yet, Bolt!” Pearl said once more, “You can do it! Give it your all this time and show the puck what you can really do!” 

Bolt stepped back a third time. He twisted his hands on the mallet’s handle and burst forward, running as fast as he could. Bolt let out a war cry: Third of all he jumped in the air to add more force to his mallet’s strike. With all of his weight behind the blow, surely the puck would reach the tower’s top and ring the bell this time! 

…The puck rose and stopped only an inch short of hitting the bell. Bolt looked on and when he saw this he was crestfallen. 

Pearl stepped forward and patted his back gently. “You tried so hard and even gave it your all too. I’m sorry, Bolt,” she said. 

Bolt’s head hung just a bit. “…I really wanted to win you that prize,” he said softly. 

“…Here,” Pearl said in a motherly tone and with much affection. She offered him her hand, and Bolt understood and he handed her the mallet by its handle. 

Pearl walked straight up to the high striker’s lever with slow, graceful steps and the serenity Bolt knew her for. Effortlessly, she struck the lever without an ounce of endeavor. The puck sailed right up to the top of the tower and quickly too. 

The bell rang with a loud “ _ding!_ ” and Pearl smiled a bit when it did. 

Bolt’s eyes were wide. When he looked back to Mr. Smiley, the man was already holding the large stuffed Martian. He was presenting it to Pearl, and she took it from him with a joyful smile. Pearl stepped over to where Bolt stood bemused, and she formally presented the toy Martian to _him_. “For you!” she said. 

_W-what a woman!_ Bolt thought. 

“You did that so well, and you made it look so effortlessly easy, too!” Bolt said aloud. “That was really amazing, Pearl!” 

“Oh, it was nothing,” Pearl replied dismissing Bolt with her hand. “It’s such a simple game—for a Pearl like myself, hitting the bell isn’t all too difficult. …I’d even once done it before some time ago,” she spoke on, “but back then I had a bit of help from a friend of mine.” She and Amethyst had rung the bell as Opal once on an outing with Steven, and with their combined strength then it had been quite easy, really. 

Bolt smiled a wide, electric grin at Pearl and she smiled right back. 

“…What would you like to do now?” she asked. 

“We’ve had a lot of swell fun here today,” Bolt said fondly. “…But maybe you should go and head back to the donut shop, where your friends are waiting for you. We've been gone from there for quite some time now…” 

“Bolt,” said Pearl, “being here with you?—I feel like we’ve got all the time in the world to have lots of great fun with us spending time together! Before I return to the donut shop, let’s you and I do at least one last thing here.” 

“Oh… But what?” 

“I’ll let you decide,” said Pearl. 

“Okay, sure, then,” Bolt began. “…But this doll here…” he continued, “carrying it around all the time for that last game together could be a pain…” 

“Oh, of course!” said Pearl. “I’ll take care of that.” 

She gently took the stuffed Martian from Bolt and clutched it in her hands. With a quick movement of her palms and in a passing moment, Pearl skillfully enveloped the stuffed Martian in a teal Gem's Bubble. 

Bolt watched, fascinated, with stars in his eyes. 

Pearl tapped the top of the Bubble, and it disappeared in an instant. 

“…Where did it go?” Bolt asked. 

“ _That’s a secret!_ ” Pearl said. 

“Uh, heh-heh…” Bolt chuckled. He really wanted to know where Pearl had sent the plush, stuffed Martian; it was her lovely gift to him, and it meant a whole lot since it had come from her, of all people. But if it were a secret… 

“Now! Which attraction should we visit last?” Pearl asked, bringing Bolt’s attention back to her. 

Bolt thought deeply and hard about what he and Pearl could do at Funland before they departed. With effort, he thought as hard as he could on which attraction to visit to make their time together there as special as it possibly could have been. 

He decided. 

“Pearl, there _is_ still one more thing I want to do here with you,” he said. And he grasped her gently by the hand, and led her away running. Pearl smiled at him, and behind her Mr. Smiley smiled, too. 

*** 

Bolt took Pearl to the Ferris wheel. 

Unsurprisingly to him, Mr. Smiley was there waiting with stilled patience at the wheel’s control panel. 

Bolt smiled at him. It certainly seemed as if Mr. Smiley was smiling right back, but tonight, in the stilled, frozen flow of time, Mr. Smiley was smiling even more than he always did. 

Bolt opened the door of the gondola that rested beyond the wheel’s boarding platform. He motioned for Pearl to board the cabin and Pearl giggled and stepped inside, softly thanking Bolt for his courtesy. 

Bolt stepped in afterwards, and when he closed the door, Bolt glanced over to Mr. Smiley. Mr. Smiley moved not an inch and pressed not a single button on the wheel’s control panel, but the Ferris wheel started regardless and silently, as if he had made it do so. 

The machine rotated slowly, and Bolt and Pearl sat down beside one another as their gondola inched toward the top of the wheel. 

When the gondola reached the wheel’s summit, the Ferris wheel stopped turning and stood still. Bolt looked out of the open gondola at the wide and open of the hills of Beach City, and the view made him let out a breath. 

“Wow…!” he breathed. 

“…Isn’t it pretty?” Pearl asked. 

From where they sat, Pearl and Bolt could see all of Beach City spread out before them. In the pale moonlight’s dim glow, all of the town lay visible from their vantage point. The lights in some of the town’s houses were on, though several of the homes stood dark, their inhabitants having long head to bed before time stopped moving. 

“…It really is,” Bolt replied. 

The lighthouse stood proud on the brow of the hill of Lighthouse Park off to the east, and to the west the Beach City Water Tower towered over them. 

“Wow, Pearl,” Bolt said again in amazement, “What’s it like living in such a wonderful town?” 

“I’ve lived here for over 100 years,” Pearl replied somberly, “so the novelty of town and that of the life I live here have long faded away. Sometimes life here can be hectic, though oftentimes it’s peaceful. But I do like it. It really is wonderful, I suppose,” she said. “It’s my home, and as I’ve told you before, I live to protect this place, my home.” 

Bolt was still and silent for a moment as he took in Pearl’s somber words. The two still sat next to one another, though there was silence as Bolt said nothing for a moment. 

“Pearl, wait!” Bolt suddenly spoke out, “What happened to the three stuffed bears we won you earlier? Did you put them in a Bubble and send them away?” 

“Oh, no,” said Pearl, “I didn’t Bubble them. They’re right here.” 

She placed her hands before the sides of the Gemstone embedded in her forehead. Closing her eyes and concentrating, Pearl manifested three spheres of energy that each unfurled and grew into the three stuffed bears from earlier. 

“I put them in my Gem,” she said. 

“…That’s amazing!” Bolt cried. 

“…It’s one of the few things I’m good at, as a Gem…” Pearl said, a bit sadly. 

“What do you mean, Pearl?!” Bolt cried. “You’re good at lots of things! You're strong; you're thoughtful; you're kind and sweet and cute and beautiful!, and…” 

“Not really, as a Gem, in general,” Pearl continued. “For example, I’m not good at _shapeshifting_ …” 

“… _Shapeshifiting_?” Bolt asked. 

“…I can’t at all,” Pearl said. “I was always unable to… it was always a part of being ‘defective’…” she whispered sadly. 

“You’re not defective,” Bolt said from his place beside her. “You’re _perfect_ . You’ve always been perfect. Ever since I first laid eyes on you…you were _perfect_ , Pearl…” 

“Oh, Bolt...” Pearl breathed. She was flustered, and flattered, and she didn't know quite what next to say. 

Bolt knew what he should do next. He had to. 

Bravely, Bolt worked up all the courage he could muster within. He moved closer to Pearl and closed the distance betwixt them in a flash. In that moment their lips locked, and Bolt gave his very first kiss to Pearl of Beach City. They kissed, and Bolt embraced her. 

Pearl’s eyes grew wide. Bolt continued to kiss her most gently, with all the finesse he could put forth into doing it. Gradually Pearl relaxed, and closed her eyes. She kissed Bolt right back. 

Pearl’s wet tongue ran across Bolt’s lips, silently begging for entrance, and Bolt let his lips part, allowing Pearl’s tongue inside. Something had been ignited alight within Pearl, and she suddenly kissed Bolt with ferocity, her passion overtaking her. 

She moaned aloud into his mouth and grabbed the hair on the back of his head; Bolt’s heart skipped beats as Pearl began to ravage his mouth. He placed his hands on the small of her back: Pearl lashed her tongue across his several times and then withdrew it, opting to suck on Bolt’s bottom lip instead. 

The kiss lasted for a only brief moment, and Bolt withdrew for air. He was out of breath, but he gave Pearl a gleaming smile as they held eye contact. Pearl smiled right back at Bolt. 

The wheel suddenly started to turn again. Mr. Smiley had started its rotation, again without actually moving an inch nor a lever; without touching anything. 

The Ferris wheel came down again, and the gondola Bolt and Pearl rode in stopped right at the boarding platform. In the time it had taken for their cabin to come down again, Pearl had lovingly returned the three toy bears to their place within her Gem. 

Bolt and Pearl stepped off of the gondola at the platform as a true couple that moment. Pearl was holding his hand, and Bolt turned to face Mr. Smiley. 

“Thanks, Mr. Smiley!” he said, turning and happily calling to him. Mr. Smiley was still frozen in place with the same expression he had had on all night. 

Pearl turned to Bolt with a bit of stunned surprise on her own face. “How did you know his name?” she asked. Bolt laughed. 

****** 

Bolt and Pearl now stood on Bay Street, just outside of the gated entrance to Funland. 

“That was a great night together with you, Bolt,” Pearl said as they walked down the road short. “I really enjoyed myself. It was really fun!” 

Bolt blushed a little and he smiled. “Thanks, Pearl. Thanks for showing me the beach and for taking me to Funland. I really had a lot of fun, too.” 

Pearl laughed at that with a smile; she was still holding his hand. 

“Will you go back to your friends at the donut shop now?” Bolt asked. 

Pearl softly shook her head. “Actually, I don’t feel like going back to the Big Donut tonight,” she said. “...Steven and Amethyst will realize I’m gone and they’ll come home eventually. It’s a pity about tonight’s rock show, though. Amethyst was so excited to go to it.” 

“Hm.” 

“Will you head home now, Bolt?” Pearl asked. “I could walk you to your place, if that’s fine.” 

“Um, actually…I don’t really live in Beach City. In fact, I’m not even from this worl—” he said, but caught himself. “…My home’s still in…uh, Ontario.” 

“So you’ve nowhere to go?” Pearl asked, concern in her tone. 

“Yeah.” 

Pearl cocked her head ever slightly and thought for a moment. She spoke. 

“Come home with me,” she said. “I’ll find a place for you to sleep tonight.” 

****** 

They entered the Beach House—Steven’s abode. Pearl and Bolt had walked along the city’s northern beach to get there, even treading fondly past where they had run through the water together earlier that evening. 

Now Pearl was back at home. She was still wearing her nice sundress, but she did not change out of it. 

She led Bolt up the loft stairs of the living room and had him sit on the bed there. Pearl stepped around the analog television set that sat in the loft. Reaching into the bottom drawers of the dresser there, she pulled out fresh sheets and a new comforter. Bolt got up when Pearl asked him to and Pearl changed the bedsheets quickly and with skill. She spread the comforter over the sheets and smoothed it over. 

Pearl motioned to the bed. “Here, Bolt! You can stay here with me tonight. You’ll be sleeping _here_!” 

With courtesy she pulled back the covers and motioned again, this time for Bolt to lie down. So Bolt lay in the bed and settled into it. Pearl tucked him in gently. 

She looked at him and clasped her hands together; Pearl smiled at him with much care visible in her eyes. But Bolt shifted a bit under the covers. He looked at Pearl cautiously. 

“I kind of don’t like sleeping here…” he said. “I mean, this is… someone else’s bed.” 

He didn’t let slip that he knew it was Steven’s. 

“You’re dissatisfied with sleeping here?” Pearl asked, concerned. She brightened up and spoke to Bolt with sincerity: “If you _find_ these accommodations poor, I think I have an idea of where you can sleep instead.” 

She extended her arm and held her palm out to him; Bolt took Pearl’s hand and she led him out of the bed, and down the loft stairs. 

“Where are we going?” Bolt asked. 

“You’ll see in just a moment,” Pearl replied. 

They went beyond the Beach House's living area. Pearl took Bolt to the Crystal Temple Gate, the door leading into the Crystal Temple, and Pearl’s Gemstone lit up. It resonated with the identical gemstone in the Gate’s door, and the door opened, giving way to… 

…Pearl’s room. 

“Wha…” Bolt began, but was speechless. 

There was an opulent, mineral floor made of fine grey stone that lined the perimeter of the room. And beyond it and within there was a vast pool of water, with a hole in its center. The water flowed down into the hole—Amethyst’s room was down there, but… 

Above the water hung several mysterious, bowl-shaped fountains. They floated on their own accord without needing anything to suspend them in the air… They also produced water plenteously, seemingly from nothing, endlessly; the water flowed out from within each fountain and cascaded down their sides… 

The ceiling of Pearl’s room looked even almost like the pearlescent, starry night sky of some distant, alien planet… 

_Inside Pearl’s room…_

Bolt had always gleefully, fondly dreamt of one day coming here. And now here he stood. 

“Come on, Bolt!” Pearl said. She gently led him to the edge of the pool of the water that made up the mystical floor of her room, stepping onto the water. It supported both their weight without dropping the duo plunging-in, almost as if it were made of the same stone that surrounded the pool. 

Bolt took Pearl’s hand and she led him out, over the ethereal pool. They walked toward the central fountain of Pearl’s room—the stark bowl above the hole in room-center, and the highest one up. 

Pearl closed her eyes and her Gemstone glowed. Bolt gave a start when a series of ethereal, glowing stairs manifested at Pearl's behest, and he was awestruck as they arranged themselves into a pathway leading up to the top of the highest fountain. 

Bolt was speechless, in fact. All of this took his breath away, and he began to tremble with anxiousness. _What would be next?_

“This way,” Pearl whispered. 

Bolt took her hand once more, and she led him up the airy, ethereal stairs and onto the top of the bowl-shaped fountain. 

The water of the highest fountain was solid, too, and Pearl walked onto it just as she had walked across her room's floor and its water below. She led Bolt by the hand to the center of the fountain. 

When they reached the fountain’s center, Pearl knelt down and patted the water at her knees. 

“Lie down, Bolt,” she said. 

Bolt stepped over and lay down beside where Pearl was kneeling. 

“…What is all this?” he asked. 

“It’s a _water bed_ , silly!” she giggled. 

“Oh…” Bolt said. He noticed the water he laid upon did not get his clothes wet. 

Pearl lay next to Bolt and grabbed his frame and hugged it close to herself. 

“You’ll be sleeping here tonight,” she whispered. 

“T-thank you, Pearl,” stammered Bolt. 

He felt tiredness overtake him. Bolt was exhausted after the long day; the plane flight, the bus rides… walking to Rebecca’s house… And then entering this world and meeting Pearl, _his_ Pearl… 

“It sure takes a lot out of you, doesn’t it?” Pearl asked, her eyes shut. Bolt could have sworn that she had just spoken in Rebecca’s voice, but he dismissed it. It must have been the jet-lag. He really was tired, after all. 

Pearl giggled and opened her mouth again. “…Goodnight, my dearest Bolt,” she said. 

“… _Goodnight, my sweet Pearl.”_

_…They fell asleep grasping the other with the softest tenderness._

And as the two lay with their eyes shut, the large, stuffed Martian floated silently by in a large, teal Bubble. 

In the outside world, Rebecca lovingly rubbed her stomach. “ _Forever with me, my beloved Bolt,_ ” she whispered. And Pearl _giggled_ lovingly. 

That night, Rebecca shut the lamp off and pulled the covers of her bed up to her collarbones. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber, with Bolt far away, deep within her heart… 

**The End**


End file.
